Lawsuits could ferret out ugliness / Litigation might slow drug use

Gwen Knapp, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, July 7, 2002

The U.S. Senate has demanded a crackdown. Rod Carew, one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, has called for random urine testing. Curt Schilling, one of the dominant pitchers in baseball today, has said his sport is tainted. Sluggers have defended themselves, with varying degrees of frustration and anger, against inquisitors. A raft of other baseball players have said the problem is overstated.

The routes to the truth about performance-enhancing drugs in baseball keep growing, but they are going nowhere. Even when particles of truth seep out -- ex-stars Jose Canseco and Ken Caminiti confessed their own doping -- the deterrent effect seems to work in reverse.

Caminiti, despite incurring an array of health problems, said he didn't regret using steroids, and Canseco has turned his admission into a promotional tool for what he hopes will be a best-selling tell-all book.

So then what will turn players and, more important, future players away from steroids and human growth hormone? Intervention by law enforcement, akin to the fight against cocaine that began in the 1980s, is one option. Another legal path might be even more effective. Lawsuits could be big winners in this game. There must be ballplayers who believe that they lost playing time to doped colleagues. If their careers were blocked because they stayed clean, can they argue a restraint-of-trade case, on the theory that illicit activity was required for them to survive in their field?

How about discrimination? Is a baseball player who refuses to take steroids or human growth hormone, which are illegal unless prescribed by a doctor, in a similar category as an employee who rebuffs advances from her boss?

If Player A can produce evidence that Player B beat him out for a starting job because he was doping, he could sue management, claiming that the club deliberately averted its eyes. He might be able to sue Player B, as well, recovering some of the multiyear, multimillion-dollar deals going to the wrong people.

Of course, he'd also have to drag in a host of reluctant witnesses -- teammates, dealers, clubhouse attendants. Right now, most of those people are operating under a code of silence. They gain nothing by speaking out. Then again, nobody's handing them subpoenas or putting them under oath.Civil action would change that. There's nothing like a lawsuit to ferret out the ugliness in an institution. Owners could play the litigation game, too. If you believe what ex-players have been saying, several teams have been defrauded.how the scam works: Player X goes from mediocre to spectacular almost overnight. He's worth millions more when he signs his next deal. Shortly after that, his body breaks down. He leaves the game with a few years left on that big contract, which was guaranteed.

If an owner can gather evidence that Player X earned his fat payday through illegal substances that led to freak injuries, the club might be entitled to keep the remaining contract money.

It might be impossible to prove a direct link between drug use and injuries,

even though steroids are widely believed to tear down a physique after building it up. But remember that sports teams routinely ban risky behavior by athletes, because, as grotesque as it sounds, their bodies are partly commodities owned by other people.That's why Jeff Kent wasn't supposed to be popping wheelies on a motorcycle in the offseason. If it turns out that he injured his wrist doing that, Giants management can dock his salary, based on a clause in Kent's contract. Shouldn't a similar clause keep players away from illegally obtained drugs that pose a risk to their bodies?

If anything, drugs cheat owners more outrageously. Without them, the player might never have gotten a big contact. And even if the player stays healthy, the owners are still paying for bogus goods. The real question is whether they care. They say they desperately want to keep the game clean, and pursuing drug cheats in court would prove that. But it would be a radical move, and baseball owners tend to mess with tradition only when a TV network asks.

----------- More baseball ---All-Star Game: Many distractions heading into festivities. B5 ---On Baseball:
John Shea
hands out midseason awards. B6 ---Spanish-speaking managers:
Tony La Russa
among growing number of skippers able to speak to Latin players. ---
Ted Williams
: Hitting .400 cemented his place in baseball history. B7